Second Chances
by leyton-is-lovee
Summary: And in that moment he had his answer. He had the answer to everything he had wanted to hear for the past two years. She loved him that was obvious. But he was too stubborn and too bitter. There was no way he was going to make this easy on her. LP


I own nothing. I didn't do anything to the story, just added lyrics.

* * *

Six weeks may not seem like a lot to most people, but to the blonde on the bed, it was a lifetime.

He told her to go and live her dream and he meant it, but that didn't mean he didn't miss her because he did. He missed her smile. He missed her sarcasm. He missed the way her curls frizzed after a long make out session. He just missed everything about her.

If this was what six weeks felt like, he couldn't imagine what he'd do for the next four years. She had decided to go to school in LA. That slipped out accidentally in the midst of her ramblings, but Sire records offered her a scholarship if she went to school in LA. He couldn't exactly tell her not to do it, or ask her to stay. He did know one thing though.

He was going to marry her someday.

She was talking like a crazed woman; jumping from one story to the next. He thought she was talking about some other intern that had professed his love for her, but he wasn't sure. She could have been speaking Swahili for all he cared. He just loved having her in front of him.

"So I told him that I loved him too . . . as a little brother", she said dejectedly.

"Peyton", he said with a wounded voice.

He knew the powers Peyton Sawyer had, she may not have known them, but he felt them first hand. She had the ability to wrap any man around her finger and be completely oblivious to it.

She pouted and put her hands on her hips.

"Well, what would you do if I told you I loved you?" she argued.

"I'd say you had pretty great timing", he said with a smirk.

Peyton cocked her head to the side and bit her lip because she knew it drove him wild. "And why's that?" she questioned.

He sent her a grin and she crawled along the bed until she sat between his legs. He brought her head closer to his and he huskily whispered into her ear.

"Because I love you too."

_I'm sick of second chances  
Cigarettes turn to ashes  
I'm standing under street signs  
To know the places I've been my whole life  
I watch the hours pass us  
Another one burns to ashes  
I'm waiting for your phone call  
To come and save me so you can break my fall_

_**Four Years Later**_

"What's on the menu for tonight?" Lucas asked as he walked into the kitchen with James attached to his leg.

"Chicken Parmesan", she said with a smile, "garlic bread and a salad", she said as she pointed to her other groceries.

"Very cool", he said as he nodded his head.

"Hey bro", Nathan said as he clapped Lucas on the back upon entering the room.

"Hey Nate", he greeted as he sent the younger man a nod.

"This looks amazing Hales", Nathan said as he went to stick his finger into the marinara sauce.

"Hey", she scolded as she smacked his hand, "that's gross."

"Yea dad", James mocked. Nathan turned to his son and stuck his tongue out at him.

"Mom", the young boy yelled, "dad stuck his tongue out at me."

"Tattle tale", Nathan gasped out.

"Stop it", Haley scolded both her boys. Nathan put his head down and Jamie simply sulked out of the room.

Lucas snickered. "You are so whipped", he ragged on his younger brother.

"You just wait", Nathan warned as he took a seat at the counter.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Marriage is something I don't see happening any time soon", he muttered. Nathan instantly regretted his comment.

"I'm sorry man I didn't mean it like that", he said sincerely.

"Don't worry about it", Lucas said as sent a smile in his brother's direction.

"How's everything going with Karen?" Haley asked as she chopped the garlic.

"Hectic, she's trying so hard to find someone that will buy the café, but so far nothing's working and she refuses to take any money. She was supposed to have someone over for dinner tonight; hopefully they'll take her offer", he muttered.

"Where's Lily?"

"Whitey's watching her tonight . . . I for one am glad to be spending a relaxing night with my brother, sister-in-law, and godson", he said in a truly grateful voice.

Haley and Nathan both tensed, but it went unnoticed by the blonde.

The doorbell rang and Nathan jumped to get it. Haley sent him a glare and he simply smirked in response.

"Luke, before I forget . . . someone's coming to dinner that we haven't seen in a while", she watched as he raised a brow.

"Brooke?"

"Think less brunette."

"Rachel?"

"Think less sluty."

"Bevin?"

"Think less dumb."

"Hales, I'm grasping at straws here", he said with a small laugh.

Haley laughed nervously as she heard the voices come closer.

"Don't hate me", she pleaded.

"It's never good when you start with that", he said with a groan.

"She's in Tree Hill for the night and wanted to get together, I completely forgot we were supposed to have dinner with you tonight", she said in a rushed breath.

"Haley we have dinner together every Friday night", he pointed out.

"Okay, so I kinda lied", she admitted after being caught, "but please be nice", she begged.

"Who's coming to dinner?" he asked; slightly afraid that he knew the answer.

"Haley!" the visitor shouted.

"Peyton!" the wife and mother yelled with just as much excitement.

Their casual Friday night dinners just got a lot more interesting.

_I will stand outside, wait for you to come find me  
I will keep on my light by my bed till you get home  
And I won't sleep tonight, till you get home  
I won't sleep tonight, till you get home_

They all sat at the dining room table. The only sound that was heard was the scraping of silver wear against the china Nathan and Haley received when they renewed their vows in senior year.

In between bites Lucas was sneaking glances at Peyton. Her hair was slightly darker, but her curls were tight and fierce; he loved her hair like that. She seemed older. It had only been two years since he had seen her, but there was something about her that screamed maturity. Maybe it stemmed from their last encounter.

"So, Peyton", Haley broke the silence awkwardly.

The blonde female in the room immediately blushed. Did Haley see her staring at Lucas? No, there was no way she could have; Peyton was sneaky. Besides, could she really blame the girl? He looked good. His hair was shorter and he had it kinda in a foe-hawk style. He hadn't shaved in a few days, but she found his 'scruff' incredibly sexy. But, his eyes held a look that she couldn't pin point. Maybe it stemmed from their last encounter.

"Did you get the lease?" Peyton released a breath; she was safe.

Lucas's ears perked up. A lease? Was she moving back to Tree Hill? He didn't really care, obviously.

"Actually yea", she said with a smile, "the contractors are coming in next week. I'm really excited about it."

Lucas continued to observe. Her face lit up when she spoke of whatever it was she was talking about. Her eyes sparkled and her smile reached her ears. He had only ever seen her like that once before.

"Well, it's about time", Nathan spoke, "you've wanted to be in music for years", he stressed.

Music. She must have finally gotten her own record company in the works. Lucas smiled inwardly for her.

Another silence lingered.

"Hey, Luke", this time Nathan broke it, "how's the second book coming?" he winced as Haley kicked him from beneath the table and Nathan shot her a glare until he realized his mistake.

"It's . . . coming", he said as he laughed.

Peyton felt the corner of her mouth tug upwards. It was the first time he had shown any type of emotion since she arrived. She couldn't blame him though; she would have been shocked too.

"Lindsay feels pretty confident that it won't take too long to get printed."

Her small smile was instantly replaced with a scowl. _Lindsay_. Peyton may not have ever met her formally, but she certainly hated the girl.

"She's still you're editor?" Peyton spoke to him for the first time that night.

His eyes snapped to meet hers and the intensity he felt made him look past her.

"Yea, she's been with me since the first book, it would have felt weird going to someone else", he noticed that she nodded.

Lucas felt somewhat guilty. He knew Peyton had a small problem with Lindsay. She felt Lindsay was trying to get with him; he thought she was crazy. But nothing happened between them while he and Peyton were together; afterwards was a different story. However, Peyton didn't know that.

"Did I tell you guys I ran into Jake?" she asked the married couple.

"Can I be excused?" the small Scott asked. Haley nodded and he quickly jumped from his seat.

"Can I be excused?" Nathan muttered. He winced as Haley kicked him again.

"You never mentioned that", Haley said casually.

"Oh, well he was in LA the other week and I literally ran into him", she said with a laugh.

Jake. That was one four letter word that Lucas Scott hated. He had no real reason to. He hadn't seen Jake since junior year of high school. He would never admit it aloud, but might have been fear. Jake always seemed to be the one Peyton turned to. They had a lot in common and Peyton adored Jenny. On some level he was waiting for Jake Jagielski to swoop down and steal her from him.

"So, you'll be working with him?" Lucas questioned as she finished her story.

Peyton nodded. She silently loved the rise she was receiving. It was good to know that he still cared. Although he had no reason to be jealous; Jake was married. But she certainly wasn't going to tell him that.

"Aunt Peyton!" James yelled as he barged into the room.

"What is it?"

"I don't wanna forget to say goodbye", he said as he climbed onto her lap.

The three adults took a deep breath, trying to prepare for whatever was coming next.

"I love you Baby James", she whispered as he threw his small arms around her neck.

"Love you too", he kissed her cheek and left as quickly as he entered.

"You're leaving?" he asked accusingly. He had completely forgotten the speedy speech Haley had given him in the kitchen earlier.

"Luke", she said as she sighed.

"It's not a big deal", he said snidely as he wiped his mouth and threw the napkin on the table, "people always leave", he quoted bitterly as he stormed from the room.

They heard the front door slam shut a minute later.

_My bed light's burning brighter  
Boiled like a boxed in fighter  
You've got me fighting pillows  
My eyes just won't close till you're at my side  
The hours slip to morning  
I see the sun coming up  
I'm turning off the TV  
I'm watching faster than you gave up on me_

She found him, nearly an hour later, at the Rivercourt. She knew he'd be there; it wasn't like she forgotten him completely. She just needed time. She had a fairly good idea about where this meeting was going to lead to and she needed all the strength she could muster.

"Why can't you just talk to me?" she begged as she walked on to the familiar blacktop.

He turned to face her with pain filled eyes.

"You wanna talk?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, Lucas . . . we obviously need to", she said referring to his eat and dash move at Naley's house.

"Fine", he said as he held his hands out, "let's talk about two years ago", she noticed the absolute anger in his voice.

She had two options: a) pretend like she had no clue what he was talking about or b) let everything be brought up.

"What about two years ago?" she preferred option (a).

"I proposed and you said no!" he yelled cutting the serenity of the November air.

"I was scared!" she yelled back, not wanting to seem weak.

"You had nothing to be scared of", he argued, "I loved you", it took everything in him to make sure he didn't say _love._

"People always leave, Lucas."

"I know . . . you've perfected it", he spat out.

"I'm sorry I hurt you", she whispered sincerely.

"God! I loved you so much Peyton", he said with emotion.

Peyton scoffed. "I know you did."

"What the hell does that mean?" he asked angrily.

She shook her head. "Nothing; never mind", she said dejectedly as she turned and walked away. This was a bad idea.

"If you didn't want to end things you could have made an effort", he yelled to her retreating figure.

She stopped and took large, anger filled, strides towards him.

"I made an effort."

This time Lucas scoffed. "What kind of effort? I never saw you" he said bitterly.

"Well I saw you", she said vaguely.

"Peyton, what the hell are you talking about?" he asked in frustration as he threw his head back.

"I came back", his eyes snapped down to meet hers.

"When?" he challenged.

"Whenever you were making out with your fucking editor", she yelled; finding the anger that she had locked away all those years ago.

Lucas flinched. Peyton hardly ever cursed, but when she did he knew she was serious.

"We were broken up", he voice got lower with every word because he knew his answer was lame.

"For a week!" she screamed bitterly.

"We were drunk and it never went past whatever you saw", she could hear the sincerity in his voice.

"Well, that gives me comfort", she said sarcastically.

"What does it matter?" He argued, "You didn't love me", he said angrily.

Peyton reeled back like she had been slapped. "Is that what you think?" she asked in a pained voice, "that I didn't love you? That I don't love you?" she waited for a response.

When she didn't get one she continued. "Why do you think I'm here right now, Luke? Why do you think I'm not still at Nathan and Haley's? Why did I follow you?" she asked.

And in that moment he had his answer. He had the answer to everything he had wanted to hear for the past two years. She loved him; that was obvious. But he was too stubborn and too bitter. There was no way he was going to make this easy on her.

"You wouldn't marry me", he told her simply.

"I made a mistake, but I came back to make things right. You were a little busy", she said snidely.

"I made a mistake", he mocked her. She nodded her head and bit her lip, but not in the way that he found completely adorable. She was pissed.

She took a minute to gather her bearings. She hadn't expected this night to go exactly in this direction. They both let the silence linger in the air because neither wanted to break the peacefulness that remained in it.

"I'm leaving tomorrow", she repeated in a whispered into the cool air. He continued to stare at her.

"I'm packing all my things and I'm getting on a plane to go back to LA and restart a life for me", she seemed to threaten as she took two steps in his direction. "Unless I have a reason to stay", she hinted as she took another two steps. The tears that had rimmed her eyes were now falling freely.

He stared at her blankly. There was so much he wanted to say. There was so much he needed to say. He loved her. God, he was so in love with her. He watched as silent, pain filled tears rolled down her delicate cheeks.

He took one big step back, "Give me a reason to stay", she begged.

Then he thought of when she turned down his proposal and all the tears he'd shed. He couldn't go down that road with her; not again. He was pretty sure his already flawed heart couldn't take any more heartache.

"Have a safe trip."

_I will stand outside, wait for you to come find me  
I will keep on my light by my bed till you get home  
And I won't sleep tonight, till you get home  
I won't sleep tonight, till you get home_

When the sunlight hit his eyes he sighed. He knew today wasn't going to be easy. Today was the day Peyton Sawyer was leaving Tree Hill and his life . . . for good.

It was nine in the morning, but he already had what he was sure was a disappointed message from his mother on the answering machine, there was an angry e-mail from Nathan and Haley, and a threatening text from Brooke. He thought about the three options and sighed. He could call his mother back, but he didn't want to hear about how he had let the mother of her future grandchildren walk out of his life. He could call Nathan and Haley, but they lived about seven blocks from him and he didn't want them rushing over here to yell at him. With all of that reasoning worked out, he dialed a semi-familiar number.

"Lucas Scott you are the ass of all asses!" Brooke screamed into the phone.

"Brooke—"

"No you don't get to talk", she said as she walked into the house.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked as he scrambled for a robe.

"Relax Broody, I've seen you in less", she muttered as she plopped onto the couch.

"Brooke, what the hell are you doing here?" he asked through gritted teeth, he had found a robe to cover his shirtless body and boxer clad lower half.

"Your mom gave me the key", she said as she wiggled it in the air.

"Why were you with my mom?"

Brooke sighed in annoyance, "Since you seem so set on not talking about you for a little while, I guess we'll talk about me. I had dinner with her last night."

"You're the possible buyer? Why didn't she tell me?"

"Nothing was set in stone and I don't know", she said as she shrugged.

"Well, is something set in stone now?" he asked as he smiled.

Brooke nodded, "Tree Hill is officially my home now and as of ten o'clock last night the café is the soon to be home of 'Clothes over Bros', my second boutique", she added with an accomplished smile.

"That's great."

"I know", she said confidently, "now back to you."

"There's nothing to talk about", Lucas said as he groaned.

"Luke, you let the best thing that ever happened to you walk out of your life", she said in disbelief.

"If she had married me two years ago this wouldn't be a problem."

"If you hadn't made out with your editor two years ago this wouldn't be a problem either", she bit back.

Lucas tiredly rubbed a hand over his face, "Look, I know Peyton's your best friend and you wanna see her happy, but—"

"This isn't about her. She doesn't even know I'm here", Brooke admitted, "This is about you Lucas. I wanna see you happy and Peyton does that."

"It's too late", he said stubbornly.

"Fine, if you wanna be miserable for the **rest** of your life it's not my problem. I tried", she said as she got up, "give this back to your mom for me", she said as she handed him the key and a piece of paper.

"Brooke—" he called out her name when he saw the paper; he figured it was something of hers . . . until he saw the writing.

_Broody,_

_10:00 departure_

_Flight 1003_

_Gate 13_

_BRING HER HOME_

He sighed before putting the items on the table and walking upstairs.

_I got your letters that you sent to me  
And it feel likes summer  
But your far away from me  
When I need you here_

She stood on a step on the escalator; eagerly waiting for this trip to end. All she wanted to do was go back to LA and act like this weekend never happened. She hadn't put herself out there. She hadn't gotten completely shut out. Lucas didn't hate her life.

The one bright side of everything that happened the previous night was that she had no regrets. In ten years she wouldn't look back and think 'what if?' because she had tried. For the second time in her life Peyton Sawyer had opened up about her feelings for the blonde boy. It was too bad this time didn't end like the other.

Her short trip on the escalator ended and she headed off in the direction of her departure gate. The rhythmic 'thud' of her wheeling luggage against the dark, grout filled lines between the tiling was the only sound she let invade her mind. It wasn't enough to block out the small nagging voice though.

What if she hadn't tried hard enough? What if he needed her to push him, like he had pushed her all those times? What if he was at her hotel room right now waiting for her, but she was here getting ready to throw it all away?

She shook her head. It had only been a few hours and she was already wondering 'what if?'

"_**Flight 1003, now boarding"**_

"This is it", Peyton muttered to herself. She made sure she had all her bags and began her walk to the attendant that was checking the tickets.

She pulled the ticket from her pocket and lifted her head to face her destination. Her heart stopped.

"Oh my God", she whispered as tears immediately sprung into her eyes and a smile graced her lips.

"What would you do if I told you I loved you?" he questioned as he approached her.

The smile on her face grew. "I'd say you had pretty great timing", she said with more then a sentimental meaning.

"And why's that?" he played along with their usual banter. He had reached her by now and she could spell the mouth wash on his breath.

She dropped her bags and threw her arms around his neck; his hands clung to her waist.

"Because I love you too."

_I will stand outside, wait for you to come find me  
I will keep on my light by my bed till you get home  
And I won't (I won't) sleep tonight, till you get home  
I won't (I won't) sleep tonight, till you get home

* * *

_

Okay, another happy ending lol. Let me know what you think.


End file.
